These are Some of the Most Powerful Statements From Larry Nassar's Hearing

Former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University sports doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on Wednesday after over 150 women and girls said he sexually abused them under the premise of providing medical treatment as part of their athletic training.

Olympic stars Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas, and Simone Biles were among the group who came forward publicly. Over 160 women gave victim statements during Nassar's seven-day trial. Here, excerpts from some of the powerful speeches.

Rachael Denhollander

"I plead with you to impose the maximum sentence under the plea agreement," she said to Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. "Because everything is what these survivors are worth."

Amy Labadie

“Come hell or high water, we will take every last one of you down, that could have stopped this monster,” Labadie said to those who may have known about Nassar's behavior.

"We are meant to thrive," Riethman said. "We are meant to be happy. We are meant to put an end to sexual abuse."

Brianne Randall

“I am here today to tell you I wasn’t afraid of you then, and I’m sure as hell not afraid of you now," Randall said. "Your power has been taken from you by an army of strong women.”

Mattie Larson

“The Olympics were just one year away," Larson said. "And I just couldn’t take any more of the abuse. I was broken. Larry, my coaches, and USA Gymnastics turned the sport I fell in love with as a kid into my personal living hell.”

Emma Ann Miller

"My last ‘treatment’ was in August 2016," Miller said. "A week later he was let go by MSU. I'm possibly the last child he will ever assault."

Jordyn Wieber

"I am angry with myself for not recognizing the abuse, and that's something I'm struggling with today," Wieber said."But even though I am a victim, I do not and will not live my life as one. I am an Olympian."

Alexis Moore

“To me, he was like a knight in shining armor," Moore said. "But alas, that shine blinded me from the abuse. He betrayed my trust, took advantage of my youth, and sexually abused me hundreds of times.”

McKayla Maroney

"I had a dream to go to the Olympics, and the things that I had to endure to get there were unnecessary and disgusting,” Maroney said.

Kyle Stephens

"Perhaps you have figured it out by now, but little girls don't stay little forever," Stephens said to Nassar. "They grow into strong women that return to destroy your world."

Aly Raisman

"Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time, are now a force, and you are nothing," Raisman said to Nassar.

Kamerin Moore

“You abused the trust that I and so many others put in you for your own sexual gratification," Moore said to Nassar. "For that alone, I can’t imagine a punishment great enough for you. However, in my eyes, you did something to me, which is even more unforgivable. You molested a little girl who had just lost her father. You knew my personal life all too well, and I can’t help but believe you used my father’s death as yet another opportunity to manipulate the trust I put in you.”

Isabell Hutchins

"You were never a real doctor," Hutchins said. "You did not heal me. You only hurt me."

Jade Capua

"You manipulated us to trust you because you're a doctor, and doctors do no wrong, only heal. You are not a healer," Capua said.

Natalie Woodland

“I may seem like a lamb on the outside, but I’m a lion on the inside," Woodland said. "And while standing up here, I’m finally realizing that I am not alone and that my story is important, and I have a right to be heard. I refuse to be held in bondage by what this man has done to me.”

Chelsea Zerfas

“You are a coward and a sickening man," Zerfas said. "You did this to me. You’re the one causing all this pain.”

Donna Markham

“Every day I miss her," said about her daughter, who committed suicide. "Every day. And it all started with him. It all started with him and just became worse as the years went by until she couldn’t deal with it anymore.”

Lindsey Schuett

“If anyone deserves to never see the light of day again, it is this man,” Schuett said.

Anna Ludes

“Because of Nassar, I have to spend the rest of my life trying to heal, and I want nothing more for him than to spend the rest of his life behind bars,” Ludes said.

Alison Chauvette

“This he referred to as ‘manipulation,’ and this word appears on my medical records when I was treated," Chauvette said after she described Nassar's method of "treatment." "‘Manipulate’ is defined by a quick Google search as ‘examine or treat a part of the body by feeling or moving it with the hand.’ Ironically it is also defined: ‘handle or control, typically in a skillful manner’…The manipulations Nassar performed are of the second definition I provided.”

Tiffany Lopez Thomas

“The army you chose in the late '90s to silence me, to dismiss me and my attempt at speaking the truth, will not prevail over the army you created when violating us,” Thomas said.

Jessica Thomashow

“I couldn’t be just a normal girl anymore, and I have forever lost a big piece of my childhood due to his abuse,” Thomashow said.

Jeanette Antolin

“The little girls you took advantage of so easily have now come back to haunt you,” Antolin said.

Maggie Nichols

“USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic committee did not provide a safe place for us to train," Maggie's mother Gina read from her statement. "I’ve come to the realization now that my voice can be heard.”

“You’re a pathetic monster that is only sorry you got caught," Dantzscher said. "I’m here today with all of these other women—not victims, but survivors—to tell you face-to-face that your days of manipulation are over.”

Kaylee Lorincz

“I can’t even go to the doctor by myself or sit on a patient table without replaying my assault over and over in my head, afraid that another will betray me just like you did,” Lorincz said.

Amanda Thomashow

“Michigan State University, the school I loved and trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure,” Thomashow said.

Bailey Lorencen

“We have won this first battle, but our war is not over," Lorencen said. "MSU knows what they have coming.”

Emily Morales

“How could I have been so naïve?" Morales asked. "How could a person that I thought to be so genuine, and kind, and caring be in fact the opposite? I will never understand.”

Gwen Anderson “He’s going to sit in jail for the rest of his life," Anderson said. "We on the other hand are going to move forward. We are going to live our best lives, because we are fighters and we are strong. And we overcome impossible odds. Because that’s what we were trained to do.”

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
ELLE participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.